A confidential internal IRS memo spells out that President Donald Trump must either release his tax returns to Congress or invoke executive privilege, according to a Tuesday Washington Post report.
Per the memo, the disclosure “is mandatory, requiring the Secretary to disclose returns, and return information, requested by the tax-writing Chairs.”
The IRS told the Post that the drafted memo was prepared in the fall.
The schism within the department takes on more importance now, since on Friday Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin rejected a subpoena from the House Ways and Means Committee over the returns, likely leading to a legal skirmish.
The last time the administration tried to ignore a congressional subpoena and the mess ended up in court, the House committee won.
